Here’s what happens in California if Gov. Newsom runs for president
SAN FRANCISCO - When a politician vacates an important office, whether by promotion or in disgrace, it can often set off a mad scramble to replace them in order to keep the wheels of government turning.
Now that President Joe Biden has decided to step aside in the 2024 presidential race, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is being floated as a potential front-runner for the Democratic presidential nominee.
Newsom has said repeatedly that he is "all in" and not running for president, but a string of public appearances in key swing states has experts and voters speculating.
But if Newsom runs, what would that mean for California?
If Newsom did indeed vacate the governor’s office in order to run for president, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis would take over. She’s already announced her early bid to run for the state’s highest office in 2026 when Newsom’s term would be up.
From there, she could nominate a Lieutenant governor to replace her for the remainder of her term, subject to the confirmation by a majority of the State Senate and Assembly within 90 days.
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Governors don’t get to select their running mates in California gubernatorial elections, so it would be a rare opportunity for Kounalakis to fill the office with an ally. In 2018, Kounalakis was the first woman elected as the state’s lieutenant governor. She’s currently serving her second term.
The California native’s record includes serving as Former President Barack Obama’s Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary as well as several international trade and business advisory positions, according to a biography on the state’s website.
The 57-year-old has described herself as a proud mother, advocate and leader. Her father came to California as a refugee from Greece, and she said that as a daughter of an immigrant, "her passion and gratitude for California led her to devote her life to public service."
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If Newsom were to resign in order to focus on what is sure to be a fierce race for the White House, Kounalakis would become California’s first female governor.
Currently, California is among 18 states that have never had a woman governor.
But Newsom may also take a lesson from history and look at the failed presidential bid of his predecessor, former governor Jerry Brown.
In 2020, Brown sat down with FOX 11 LA’s Elex Michaelson and explained that his ambition for the White House derailed his potential for a national political career.
"When you're a governor, you think, why not be president? Right? And that was not a good thing on my part. I mean, running for president in 1980 was a very dumb move on my part, but that's what I wanted, and of course, I wanted it because I was ambitious," Brown said. "So the virtue of my strong desire became the vice of my overwhelming ambition, and I should have stuck to my post as governor, and then I might have been elected Senator and who knows what would have happened."